The Semiotic of Bangkai-Bangkaian: A Special Space for the Spirit Halina Sendera Mohd. Yakin, University of Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia Andreas Totu, University of Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia The European Conference on the Social Sciences 2015 Official Conference Proceedings Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to ethnographically describe the ritual of death among the West Coast Bajau in Sabah especially on the matters related to the preparation of bangkai-bangkaian after a funeral. This cultural artifact is perceived as a resting place or ‘special space’ for a spirit which is believed will visit his or her family members during special feast and occasion known as bejogo, mangan bangi and malam tujuh. Apart from that, bangkai-bangkaian also symbolizes the values of love, care and respect for the dead. Symbolically, the act of preparing bangkai-bangkaian also reflects the world-view of the Bajau. The discussion also covers the concept of spirit’s space among other ethnic groups in Sabah. The data were gathered through interviews and participant observations carried out in Kampung Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia. The qualitative description were analyzed and elucidated based on semiotic and non-verbal communication perspectives. Keywords: Bajau, Death Ritual, Bangkai- Bangkaian, Semiotic, Non-verbal Communication iafor The International Academic Forum www.iafor.org 1. Introduction Semiotic referring to meanings of symbols and humans as creators and meaning givers to symbols are two inseparable entities in a life of a cultured civilization. In reality, humans live with symbols and signs. Death symbols are among the significant symbols signifying a culture. Generally, death symbolizes sadness and people have different ways to manage, handle and signify death. Like other ethnics in Malaysia, ethnics in Sabah have their own unique death rituals. The Bajau or Sama is one of the ethnics in Sabah that has this unique death ritual. Thus, this article discusses death symbols of Bajau specifically the artifact of death culture called bangkai-bangkaian. Based on the intended objective, the researchers have applied some interrelated theoretical perspectives, namely the Semiotic Theory and Nonverbal Communication Approach, to conduct and support the focus of the study and also to act as a foundation to search for the meaning of death symbol. This qualitative research utilized the ethnographical thick description approach to illustrate and interpret the semiotic meanings behind the death symbol of bangkai-bangkaian. In line with the ethnographical approach, the data collection is conducted through participant observation and interview. Besides that, interpretation from both etic and emic perspectives are also employed to describe the data. 2. The Bajau in General In most western writings or researches on ethnic Bajau tribe, the Bajau or also known as the Sama, is grouped as boat nomads or sea nomads---people who have a close affiliation with the sea and boating life, and tend to live a nomadic way of living. This group is also associated with several names/titles, including sea gypsies, waju and with variations of pronunciation and spelling of the term Bajau, as Badjaw, Bajo, Badjoo, Bajjau and others. In Sulu, the Bajau is also known as Sama, Samal, Palau, Kaliaggeh and Luwaan. But despite the diversity of the names/titles, the term Sama-Bajau is accepted as the name/title to include all ethnic tribal groups, not just those that have become synonymous with the sea living people, but also those majority ethnic groups living on the coast and on the land. Geographically, the Bajau occupies several regions in Southeast Asia and becomes the indigenous people in three countries, namely the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. In the Philippines, they can be found in the South or in the Sulu Archipelago, while in Indonesia, they settle in the east, especially along the coast of Sulawesi. In Malaysia, the Bajau lives in Sabah. In this state, there are two major settlements of the Bajau community, namely the district of Kota Belud, located on the West Coast, Sabah and the Semporna district, located on the East Coast, Sabah. Apart from Kota Belud, the Bajau in the West Coast can also be found in Kudat Peninsular, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu, Sepanggar, Putatan and Papar. In the East Coast, besides the town and the mainland of Semporna, the Bajau people also live on the islands such as Omadal Island, Danawan Island, Siamil Island, Bum-Bum Island and others. In spite of this, the Bajau people are also spreading across several other regions in Southeast Asia and is said to be a huge ethnic groups scattered and dominated the islands of Southeast Asia from ethno- linguistic point of view (Sather, 1997). Demographically, about 15 years ago, a study conducted by Sather (1997) had estimated that the population of Bajau in the archipelago continent was between 750,000 to 900,000 people. Therefore, it can be suggested that nowadays the number of Bajau people on this archipelago has reached more than one million people. iAccording to Gusni (2005), the Bajau ethnic population in three countries, namely Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia is estimated to reach 860,000. In Malaysia alone, particularly in Sabah (including the Federal Territory of Labuan), the distribution of the Bajau population is estimated at 334,6711 (Yearbook of Sabah Statistics, 2005:16). In total, the Bajau on the East Coast is ahead of little figures, estimated at 169, 3492 people compared to the West Coast, which is estimated at 165, 3223 people (Yearbook of Sabah Statistics,2005: 16-18). Writings and studies of the Bajau origin can be traced since the 20th century---including writings and studies by researchers such as Warren, Sopher, Saleeby, Alliston, Nimmo and Sather. In the late 20th century to present (21st century), amongst the top researchers who have been actively written and published articles on the West Coast Bajau community, whether from within or outside the country, are Yap Beng Liang, Gusni, Miller and Saidatul Nornis. Nevertheless, until now the research and writing about the West Coast Bajau, especially the chronology of this community maybe somewhat less prolific. As of today, issues concerning the origins of the Bajau have not yet found a definitive final say due to the imperfection of history resources record and the diversity of literature available regarding the matter. Based on studies that have been carried out previously, there are many classical theories associated with the origin of this society, among them are the state of Johore in the Malay Peninsular and the Riau-Linga archipelago, and Zamboanga in southern Philippines. Information that supports the argument that the Bajau community comes from Johor and the Malay Peninsular derived from the legendary stories such as that described by Cyrill Alliston, Najeeb Saleeby, Hellen Follet, the Bajau people of Pulau Omadal, and the latest story of Bajau Kota Belud and the version of the Bajo story from Sulawesi Indonesia.4 The legend of Bajau from Pulau Omadal stated that Bajau people was originally from Johor, was then moved to Sulu and finally anchored in Sabah. Helen Follet’s statement also stated that the Bajau were boat dwellers of the Malay Peninsula. Cyril Alliston excerpt also explained that the Bajau was from Johore, as well as Najeeb Saleeby, which also suggested that before occupying Sulu, the Bajau came from Johore (Yap Beng Liang, 1993). Writings and research by Sopheras as well as demographic evidence from Earl and Tom Harrison also strengthen the theory which claims that the Bajau are from Johor (Gusni, 2005). 1 This figure is based on 2000 statistics, according to ethnic group and Sabah local authority area, and Federal Teritory of Labuan. The figure includes the population of Labuan which is amounted at 3675 people and also of Malaysian citizen. 2 This figure includes the Bajau of Tawau residency (Tawau, Lahad datu, Kunak, Semporna), and also Sandakan residency (Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Beluran, dan Tongod.) 3 This figure covers the Bajau of the West Coast (Kota Kinabalu, Ranau, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Penampang dan Papar), Kudat (Kudat, Kota Marudu dan Pitas), remote areas (Beaufort, Kuala Penyu, Sipitang, Tenom, Nabawan, Keningau dan Tambunan), and Federal Teritory of Labuan. 4 For details’ reading about the legendary tales, please refer to the studies done by Yap Beng liang (1993), Sather (1997), and latest study by Saidatul Nornis Hj. Mahali (2006). Meanwhile, the other opinion which claims that the Bajau people are from the southern Philippines maybe referred to the linguistic evidence. Based on the comparative study of languages by Collins, which argues that there are similarities between the dialects of Bajau people in Sabah with the Bajau people in Indonesia and in the southern Philippines. Apart from the oral traditions mentioning about 'Samboanga' as the origin of the Bajau (from a geographical view as well), the Bajau is said to begin moving from the island of Sulu, leading to the island of Borneo and proceed to the island of Celebes in southern Philippines (Gusni, 2005). According to Gusni again (2005), the arguments and theories which claim that the Bajau people are from Johore are much stronger compared to Zamboanga. A study on Land Bajau community conducted by Miller (2007) found that the West Coast Bajau language are more akin to the Indonesian Malay language compared to the Philippines and Borneo languages family. These findings reinforce the hypothesis that once said by Blust in 2005 which stated that Bajau people (proto-sama) are more likely came from Indonesia, which is located in the East Kalimantan (Miller, 2007). Anchored to the fact that language is the foundation of civilization building, and one of the important cultural aspects in tracing cultural comparison between tribes, the authors feel that the latest linguistic findings can be addressed. Miller's findings also confirm that although there is similarity, the Bajau language of the West Coast and East Coast are different.